Berlin, June 3, 2026 – Just a few days to go until the event kicks off: From June 9 to 11, 2026, bio:cap will make its debut at CityCube Berlin. With the new international Life Sciences & AI Investival, Messe Berlin, together with Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH), and the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI), is creating a platform for exchange between science, artificial intelligence, venture capital, pharma, and entrepreneurship. The goal is to more quickly translate Europe’s innovation potential into marketable solutions and globally competitive companies.

The first edition will bring together more than 115 exhibitors from over 20 countries, more than 250 speakers from over 25 countries, as well as international investors, startups and companies from across the global life-science ecosystem. Across three days, bio:cap will feature more than 100 programme items, including panels, workshops, networking formats and side events.

Europe boasts an exceptionally strong research landscape—yet it still too rarely succeeds in quickly translating scientific excellence into scalable businesses, investments, and marketable innovations. This is precisely where bio:cap, initiated by Messe Berlin, comes in. The new international investival brings together science, capital, industry, and entrepreneurship in a targeted manner to create new connections, collaborations, and growth potential within the life sciences and AI ecosystem.

“With bio:cap, Messe Berlin is developing a new international event format for a future-oriented market with tremendous momentum. The convergence of life sciences, artificial intelligence, and capital is one of the defining innovation themes of our time—and that is precisely why we are creating bio:cap as a platform for international exchange, new partnerships, and growth,” says Mario Tobias, CEO of Messe Berlin.

bio:cap relies on strong scientific and institutional partnerships. Together with Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), and the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI), the new Investival brings together leading players from the fields of research, translation, technology, and innovation to enhance the international visibility of Europe’s life sciences ecosystem and strengthen its networks.

“Medical innovation arises where excellent research, clinical application, entrepreneurial drive, and the right framework conditions come together,” said Prof. Dr. Heyo K. Kroemer, Chairman of the Executive Board of Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. “As a university medical center, we see every day the potential that lies in scientific breakthroughs—and how crucial it is to translate them more quickly into concrete solutions for patients. This requires strong interfaces between science, clinical practice, industry, capital, and politics. This is exactly where bio:cap comes in.”

From the BIH’s perspective as well, the successful translation of scientific findings is one of the key challenges facing Europe as a hub for innovation.

“Europe has outstanding infrastructure and stakeholders in biomedical research and healthcare,” says Prof. Dr. Christopher Baum, Chair of the BIH Board of Directors and Director of the Translational Research Division at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. “A key challenge lies in developing innovative and scalable applications, products, and services from scientific findings. This successful translation process requires strong ecosystems and new formats; bio:cap fills a gap by bringing together research, entrepreneurship, and capital at an early stage.”

In addition to science and translation, the convergence of digital technologies, entrepreneurship, and investment also plays a crucial role in the future of healthcare innovation.

“The future of health innovation is taking shape at the interdisciplinary intersection of life sciences, artificial intelligence, and entrepreneurship,” says Prof. Dr. Ariel Dora Stern, Alexander von Humboldt Professor of Digital Health, Economics, and Policy at the Hasso Plattner Institute. “Successful innovation ecosystems thrive on early collaboration between science, technology, investors, and industry. Platforms like bio:cap create exactly this kind of space.”

Among the international speakers at the inaugural edition are Stefan Oelrich, Member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG and President of Bayer’s Pharmaceuticals Division; Dr. Thomas Clozel, Co-Founder and CEO of the AI biotech company Owkin; Dr. Johannes Fruehauf, Founder and CEO of BioLabs; Nobel laureate Prof. Dr. Stefan W. Hell, Cyber Ambassador Audrey Tang, Federal Minister Dorothee Bär, and other leading international voices from research, venture capital, technology, and industry.

The bio:cap program addresses key issues shaping the industry’s future, including Europe’s biotech sovereignty, international investment trends, the role of AI in drug discovery and diagnostics, and new business models at the intersection of life sciences and technology. Sessions such as “Building Europe’s Biotech Sovereignty,” “Europe’s Biotech Capital: Who Funds the Future?,” “The Boston Blueprint: Scaling Biotech Across Borders,” “Asia’s Biopharma Rise,” as well as reverse pitch sessions and startup pitch formats, are designed to specifically foster exchange between founders, investors, and industry representatives.

The conference program is complemented by interactive formats that foster direct exchange between founders, investors, academia, and industry. Reverse pitch sessions, startup pitch formats, roundtables, and hands-on workshops create concrete points of connection for various stakeholders in the ecosystem - ranging from corporate financing and investor readiness to clinical feedback on innovations and applications of artificial intelligence in healthcare.

The exchange doesn’t end with the stage program. Through curated side events and networking opportunities, bio:cap extends the Investival experience into the city. This includes the Investal Party, which brings together international investors and other participants after the fair closes. At Fotografiska Berlin, guests gain access to an exclusive exhibition and can round out the evening with networking and conversations. On the Teufelsberg, another side event combines Berlin’s contemporary history with creative formats such as a historical tour and a graffiti workshop—creating additional spaces for personal encounters and new connections within the international ecosystem.

About bio:cap

bio:cap is an investival at the intersection of life sciences and artificial intelligence. The event is aimed at the entire international life sciences ecosystem and brings together capital, technology, and research in an open, investment-oriented environment. At bio:cap, leading international investors meet with startups, research institutions, and companies from the biotech, techbio, diagnostics, and AI sectors—along with decision-makers from the political sphere. bio:cap will take place for the first time from June 9–11, 2026, at CityCube Berlin. The event is organized by Messe Berlin in collaboration with Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH), and the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI).